The Tuatapere Branch, including the Orawia Branch, was a branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand. Although the Tuatapere and Orawia Branches look like a single line, operationally they were considered separate lines. The first section opened to Riverton in 1879 and reached Tuatapere three decades later. The extension from Tuatapere to Orawia operated from 1925 until 1970. In 1976 the Tuatapere Branch was truncated to Riverton, and was known as the Riverton Branch until 1978, when it closed beyond Thornbury. The remaining portion of the line is now part of the Wairio Branch.
Construction
The desire to open up regions west of Invercargill prompted construction of this line, with developers hoping to discover plentiful minerals and resources, and encourage more substantial settlement in the area. The first section of the line was built from Makarewa on the Kingston Branch to Riverton via Thornbury, the Wairio Branch junction, and opened on 9 June 1879. The line was opened in stages: Colac on 25 July 1881, Roundhill on 24 September 1883, Orepuki on 5 May 1885, Waihoaka on 1 October 1903 and Tuatapere on 1 October 1909.
There was some dispute over where to commence a railway to the settlement of Orawia. One of the two main proposals was to extend the Tuatapere line, and the other was to build a branch from Waikouro on the Wairio Branch. Ultimately, the Tuatapere proposal was accepted, and although construction was postponed due to World War I, work had recommenced by October 1919 and the Public Works Department was operating trains by mid-September 1924. The line was handed over to the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) and officially opened on 20 October 1925.
Operation
The line was run as two separate branches from Tuatapere: the Tuatapere Branch from Invercargill, and the Orawia Branch. During the days of steam motive power, most services on the branches were operated from a depot at Tuatapere. Trains were typically mixed, carrying both passengers and freight. One such train daily operated from Tuatapere to Invercargill and return, while another ran Invercargill to Tuatapere and return. Orawia was served by a service from Tuatapere on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Along the line, a lucrative logging industry was established and many bush tramways were built to provide easy cartage of logs to the railway line. A timber mill was established in Tuatapere to process the logs and it provided much traffic for the railway. In the early days of the line, oil shale was a prominent source of freight from Orepuki. The railway was also indispensable in helping to develop the Waiau River valley and its settlements.
A locomotive from the More & Sons sawmill tramway, which ran about from Longwood, is on display beside Riverton museum. The tramway was open from 1902 to 1960.
Passenger services on the Orawia Branch did not last even a decade. By 1932, passengers were no longer carried and goods trains ran only twice weekly. Passengers could travel on the rest of the line until the early 1950s, and around this time the daily Invercargill to Tuatapere and return goods train was withdrawn. This was partially offset by a Monday to Friday goods train from the Wairio Branch junction at Thornbury to Tuatapere. The Orawia Branch looked as if it could be closed at any time until a cement works was constructed in the town in 1956. It provided sufficient traffic to justify the Orawia Branch's existence.
Traffic declined during the 1960s, and when steam motive power was replaced by DJ class diesel-electrics in June 1968, Tuatapere locomotive depot closed and services changed to operate out of Invercargill thrice weekly, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In May 1968 the cement works in Orawia closed, and deprived of its main source of traffic, the Orawia Branch closed on 1 October 1970.NZR Closes Two South Island Branches Railway Transportation January 1971 page 34 By the mid-1970s, only 4,500 tonnes of traffic yearly were railed west of Riverton and the line was cut back to Riverton on 30 July 1976. There were expectations that forestry developments would create sufficient traffic from Riverton, but these failed to eventuate and the line from Thornbury was closed on 15 January 1978. A minor protest to keep the Thornbury to Riverton section open for tourism and potential private railway operations, was to no avail. The section from Makarewa and Thornbury became part of the Wairio Branch.
Stations Thornbury to Riverton (9 June 1879 to 15 January 1978) closed to passengers 28 June 1954New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas, fourth edition, edited by John Yonge (Essex: Quail Map Company, 1993), 29. StationDistancenotesThornbury0 kmThornbury had a station at the junction of the lines to Invercargill, Nightcaps and Riverton. Named Aparima Junction in 1879, then Thornbury Junction, it became Thornbury from 1 July 1881. From 1879 to 1930 it had a 5th class station, with a platform, cart approach, x goods shed, loading bank, cattle yards, water service, fixed signals, urinals and a passing loop for 27 wagons (extended to 41 by 1886), with an engine reversing triangle added by 1898. The station had a Post Office from 1880 until the station moved in 1930. Refreshment rooms were built in 1880. In 1882 reference was made to the "dangerous practice of passengers crossing line" to reach the rooms. The concrete rooms were gutted by fire in 1913. An advert invited tenders for replacement rooms. Several railway houses were built between 1882 and 1956. An automatic tablet exchanger was added in 1909. On 28 November 1929 Cabinet approved a new station and yard, estimated to cost £10,000, to allow coal from Ohai to run to Invercargill without reversal. Despite protests, in 1930 the station was moved from the centre to the edge of the village and rebuilt as an island platform. Staff were reduced from a stationmaster, clerk, cadet and platelayer in 1930, to just a clerk in 1933. Electricity was used in the rebuilt station and yard. The old station building was sold in 1937. The burnt out refreshment rooms remain in their ruined state, but the 1930 station was removed between 1991 and 2010, except for a loading bank. The new station had a turntable until it was removed in 1969.Otaitai BushOtaitai Bush had a shelter shed, platform and cart approach. The station closed on 22 September 1957.Riverton RacecourseA new stopping place opposite the Racecourse was noted on 27 May 1933 and in November 1933 a shelter shed was moved from Menzies Ferry for £11.14s. By 17 April 1957 trains no longer stopped at the station and the shed and tablet hut were removed. The station closed on 17 April 1957.RivertonWork at Riverton began with the first sod being turned on 26 June 1874, followed by construction of a house in 1875, but progress was slow, largely due to a dispute with the original contractor, David Proudfoot. A public meeting in 1878 called on the Minister for Public Works to hurry work on. Riverton's Mayor, Theophilus Daniel, formally opened the railway on 9 June 1879, saying he hoped it would eventually run the length of the island, linking Te Koko-o-Kupe / Cloudy Bay with Rakituma / Preservation Inlet. David Proudfoot won the Riverton-Orepuki contract, with a tender of £28,397. Riverton remained the terminus of the railway for two years. A 5th class station was considered, but a 4th class station, platform, cart approach, x goods shed (demolished in 1973), loading bank, water service, coal accommodation, turntable, engine shed, fixed signals, urinals and a loop for 24 wagons (by 1886 29 wagons) were built.
As early as 1884 it was noted that Riverton Bridge could take locomotives no heavier than class F. and an 1886 report on the condition of the bridge urged erection of new one. By 1902 the shared wooden road rail bridge was busier. Construction of a new bridge began in October 1902. The long bridge and causeway opened in 1904. After closure in 1978 the bridge was no longer maintained and in 1994 Southland District Council asked for it to be upgraded or removed. It was demolished in 2001. Nothing remains of the station. Riverton to Colac Bay / Ōraka (25 July 1881 to 31 July 1976) closed to passengers 28 June 1954 LongwoodLongwood had a shelter shed, platform and, by 1888, also a cart approach. It closed on 5 November 1972. An extensive More & Sons bush tramway from 1902 to 1 September 1960 had a siding near the station.TihakaMcKillop & Trail had a private siding from 20 December 1883, which was transferred to Frew & Co on 18 April 1883. It was renamed as Oraki on 13 April 1885. It had a shelter shed, platform and loop for 24 wagons. On 15 September 1912 the name was again changed to be Tihaka. It closed on 6 November 1955, but from 1966 to 17 March 1967 Tihaka Sand Pit siding supplied NZR with sand for locomotives, and track repair.ColacColac had a ballast pit, a shelter shed, platform, loop for 11 wagons (extended to 21 by 1886). By 1886 it also had a cart approach, x goods shed, loading bank, water service and urinals. Additions to shelter shed were made in 1899. Colac to Orepuki (5 May 1885 to 31 July 1976) closed to passengers 28 June 1954 WakapatuWhakapatu flag station had a shelter shed, platform and, by 1886, also a cart approach and loop for 30 wagons On 14–15 January 1917 bush fires damaged the station. The station building was sold in 1970.RuahineRuahine had a shelter shed, platform, loading bank, siding and, by 1886, also a cart approach and loop for 32 wagons. The station closed on 4 September 1966.PahiaPahia had a shelter shed, platform, loading bank, siding, then cattle yards in 1885 and, by 1886, also a cart approach and a loop for 29 wagons.HirstsOn 3 August 1885 £20 was authorised to build a platform for Mr Hirst. By 1886 there was a platform, cart approach and, from 9 December 1901, a flag station with a shelter shed for passenger and parcels traffic. The station closed on 22 September 1957.OrepukiOrepuki station was opened by Theophilus Daniel on 5 May 1885. It had a 4th class wood and iron station building (including a ladies waiting room and ticket lobby), Post Office (until 23 June 1960), cart approach, x goods shed, crane, loading bank, engine shed, water service, coal accommodation, stationmaster's house, several railway cottages, by 1886 also urinals and a loop for 44 wagons. About 1897 a turntable was added, in 1893 stockyards were provided and in 1937 a coal shed. Orepuki remained a terminus until 1903. In 1941 part of the station was badly damaged by fire and Closed as an officered station on 31 March 1942. In 1961 the station building was sold. The buildings have gone, except for the water tank. Orepuki to Waihoaka (1 October 1903 to 26 April 1970) closed to passengers 28 June 1954 Te TumutuFlag station with a shelter shed, platform, loading bank and loop for 17 wagons. The station closed on 1 April 1956.WaihoakaWaihoaka remained the terminus of the line for 6 years. The flag station had a 7th class building, built by Edward Walter Bone, x platform, cart approach, privies, urinals, loading bank, x goods shed, cattle yards, 2 platelayers' cottages and a loop for 46 wagons, lifted by the end of 1941. The goods shed was sold in 1970. Waihoaka to Tuatapere (1 October 1909 to 31 July 1976) closed to passengers 28 June 1954